Reflections on Rest

 Hello and welcome back to another article!

At the time I started working on that article, it had been exactly a whole quarter and a month since I had last posted. However, here we are now and the year is almost over. What started just as a moment in between posts to brainstorm the next article turned into a much needed Selah moment. As I have said before on this platform, there is nothing that I share that doesn’t apply/ minister to me: What I have shared from a prophetic place has turned out to be the encouragement I couldn’t give myself in the times that I have walked through my very own valley; and what I have shared from experience is the wisdom I pray someone can benefit from. 

2025 was definitely a mixed-feelings type year with highs that were high and exhilarating; and lows that had me question a lot of things. And in the midst of all of this, a moment to stop was much needed. It was intentionally shorter to begin with but as time went by, I realized that perhaps much more time than I had anticipated was needed. Life still happened but I started to think more intentionally about what it meant to rest as i walked through that journey everyday, in a practical way. 

As the year is coming to an end, I am still on that journey (and suspect I will be on it for a while), more intentional than ever about what it means to live a life where rest can exist, not as an earned reward for constantly and consistently striving as society dictates it, but simply as a practice because I deserve it. 

As I continue my journey, I am sure that I will have a lot more to talk about but I wanted to share what I have found out rest to be in the past months through my own experiences, through conversations with people and through the Bible lens.

1- Rest as a way to honor God

As part of ministry, I attended a workshop months ago where we spoke about rest. I had been wrestling with this article for a while and didn't really know how to start it, what to write in it or even how to relate to it. However, one thing I knew for sure was that it was what God wanted me to talk about and the theme of this workshop came as confirmation of it. The guest speaker at the workshop described Rest as a gift from God. When I did my research while writing this article, I found that there was different words in Hebrew that meant rest but the one that she and I stayed on was Shabbat which is what God instructed in His word. As a Christian (imitator of Christ), I think a lot of what it means to bear that name/title. Sometimes, there are big/very stern terms associated with it like Holiness, and obedience, but there are moments like this, when talking about rest, where I realize that imitating Christ (who is God) also means resting. It might seem like such a minute thing but it is so important. The Bible says in genesis that God created everything in six days and "by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creation that He had done" (Gen 2:2). What I took away from this verse is that to honor the sabbath (rest) is to honor God by imitating him (first) and by acknowledging the sacredness of rest (second). To live in holiness is to honor God. To live in integrity is to honor God. To serve in a ministry capacity, in community or our family members is to honor God. And to rest is also to honor God. 

2-Rest as a way to rebel against societal norms

We live in an era were productivity has become an idol for many (myself included). For a lot of us, we have derived our worth from what we do. I have heard many times people joke around and say :"you can rest when you are dead" and that's how I knew that there was a serious problem with the society we live in. It is unfortunate that it takes people to be burnout, to have mental breakdowns or even drop down dead to realize that rest is something necessary. As someone who travels, I am realizing that the idea of moving slow and stopping is not something that is natural in the western society. In certain places in Europe, shops are closed on the weekend. People on their lunch breaks step away from their desks/ leave their offices to have lunch because they understand the importance of stopping, just for a little while, so they can be replenished and rejuvenated. As I am walking through that journey of uncovering what rest means for me, I am also confronted with the reality of how hard it is to change my own habits and reconditioning my mind. I am confronted with the reality of how hard it is to resist the urge to jump on everything, say yes to everything and/or fix everything. The reality of the world we live in is that everyone is expendable and there will be another day to save if I cannot save today. And if I can save today, it's okay if I don't save tomorrow. I don't have to succumb under societal pressure : just because I have the capacity to do it all doesn't mean that I have to do it all.

3- Rest as an act of trust (and Faith) in God

A while ago, I went down the rabbit whole to understand the difference between trust and faith because of one specific passage: Mark 9:24. What I have found during my study of that verse is that it is possible to have Faith (believing in God's character and power) while not trusting that He can do what He says He is going to do for us specifically. The faith part is based on things that are established as truth by the Word of God, the trusting part is relational. Faith stands on Who God is, trust is based on who God is to us. And for a lot of us, rest is a test of how much we trust God and have Faith in him. A lot of us- again, myself included- wrestle with restlessness because we do not trust that God will show up for us. We tend to have the Faith part down but the area where we struggle the most is trust. Even when we have a track record of what God can do, we still waver in our trust. And because we do, we have a tendency to want to control everything, even when we leave things in God's hands. I have found in my experience that a restless mind/person is simply a mind/person that is not at peace. I am learning to pivot my prayers from asking for answers to asking God for peace. It doesn't mean an absence of trouble, it just means that because the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus (phil 4:7), I can rest knowing that what I cannot take care of because it is out of my reach and my physical abilities, God will handle. It is a hard thing to practice on a daily basis, especially in times where all you see is a raging sea and waves on the horizon of life while your boat is being beat up by the storm. And practicing trusting God will not be something that you nail every time too: there will be moments of doubts. However, when those moments come, be reminded that God is not looking out for perfection and all He needs is a sincere heart that can say "Lord I believe (I have faith), help my unbelief (my lack of trust)" just as in mark 9:24. And He will do the rest.

4- Rest as a way to sustainably continue the journey 

As someone who used (in the past) to want to just get through my tasks, I have learned the hard way that rest is the only way to sustainably continue the journey. Just "wanting to be done" got me burned out, irritable and brought me to the brink of quitting things that I enjoy that required me to (unfortunately for me) pace myself. I have learn that quitting wasn't the solution to being burnout or overwhelmed: resting was. I have a very good friend of mine (more like a sister from another mother) whose motto is "no matter what you are going through in life, eat first" and to that I add "then sleep". I have come to realize for myself how detrimental a lack of sleep and rest is for me, what I have going on in life and my relationships. It goes without saying because it is straight up Biology. But we don't always realize that. Whenever I think of how far one can go when properly rested and rejuvenated, I think of Elijah's journey to Horeb as he was running for his life because of Jezebel. The Bible says in 1 kings 19: 1-9: 

"Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them." Elijah was afraid a and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9There he went into a cave and spent the night.

One thing I believe about the Bible and the way it is written is that nothing is coincidental. 2 tim 3: 16 says "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" and my personal belief is that the rest, the food and the power of God all played a role in Elijah's ability to walk 40 days and night- without stopping- to go meet God at Horeb. It is encouragement (to me at least) that resting and refueling is not a waste of time, but rather a necessity if we want to make it to the places we talk about with God. 

This is the end of the road for this article and this topic (for now) and this is what I will leave you with for this year. I hope (and pray) that in those words- whether from this article or from the ones that I published this year and before- you have found something that gave you hope, encouraged you and/or something that motivated you to either keep going or change the trajectory of your life for the better. 
I am grateful that no matter how long I am gone, I always find myself back to this place where my words go out to do what they do (I hope something good). I pray the rest of this year be kind to you and your loved ones and I leave you with this Irish blessing: 

"May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand."

Until next time, 

Building Discipline: The Power Of Doing Small Things Consistently

I’ve always been a woman of intensity. It doesn’t really matter what it was that I had to get into: I always dived in head first, with a pow wow that would have you wonder if it was the real me or if I was on crack. Although over a short period, such as during a sprint, intensity can be a great thing, over a long period of time it is very hard to sustain. 

I remember for the longest time that I had always been passionate about things for a short time and then after months or years, I'd give up because I started with expectations that were not always realistic and an energy expenditure that could not be sustained over a long period of time. And so at the end of last year, I took time to reflect on what I wanted to achieve this year and realized that my approach of intensity vs consistency wasn’t really working as I leaned more towards the former than the latter. After some digging, journaling, thinking, praying and more journaling, I mapped out the areas that I wanted to grow in and one of them was being more disciplined. I did realized that the reason why I would fall off so easily when it came to the things I was passionate about, was that I lacked discipline. I was free floating and getting to things when I could or felt like it, instead of actually being intentional about creating a life that incorporated the things that allowed me to build a structured life. Although, creating a routine through discipline felt like a great idea and an accomplishment, I will not lie about the fact that I was afraid at the idea that once again, it would be another new years resolution that would end in a flop. To be honest, I had a love and hate relationship with discipline as I saw it as such a rigid way of living life instead of something that provided stability. And because the rigidity and coldness of discipline frightened me, I was afraid at the idea of disappointing myself once again because my track record in the past hadn’t been that great. I was so afraid that I even brought it up during a therapy session as building a routine was something that was part of my plan of care. After discussing my plan with my therapist and asking how I could possibly remain committed to my goals and be disciplined she said to me : "discipline is one of the hardest things to practice and even I struggle with it. There is no magical pill or easy way to do it. You will have to pray every day and ask God to help you and show up to do the work". And so I took her advice: I started with the plan that I had and I learned to go to God everyday to ask for the strength to be disciplined and the strength to show up. I dedicated the month of January to building a routine and I learned to show up everyday. One of the areas that I started practicing discipline in is exercising. I had a goal to exercise everyday, no matter how long. The goal was not the intensity but rather the discipline of showing up everyday (consistency). And so far, I am still at it and still on the journey to being more disciplined when it comes to exercising and my physical health.  Of course my journey during that month wasn’t perfect: there were trials and errors, moments of big victories with a great sense of accomplishment when I could follow my plan; and some moments of frustrations when I couldn’t get everything done. But through it all, I realized that there was power in small, daily baby steps. I realized that doing it all was about intensity when all I had to do was remove the "all" and just do, and as I would get in motion, I would find the right balance to perhaps make space later for the "all" or perhaps not. After all, I was notorious for having high expectations of myself so perhaps the "all" was too much and I needed to scale down and create a routine that I could carry consistently and turn into a lifestyle without feeling overwhelmed when I did it all or like a failure when I missed the mark. This intentionality about discipline has been an eye opener and a teaching moment, from showing up to exercise whether I felt like it or not, to being disciplined about my time, finances, thoughts and prayer life, passing by the discipline of resting. As we have transitioned into a new month, I did catch myself slacking and subconsciously going back to my old ways, as if practicing discipline was only a monthly challenge that I had taken on (intensity) vs a new way of living (consistency and intentionality). So these days, the discipline that I am focusing more on on top of a new way of doing life is having the right mindset.

I want to close with one last thing that I hope will encourage you: I recently watched an interview with the former FLOTUS Michelle Obama that gave me solace and encouraged me to do the small things until I could take it one step further. I do not exactly remember what she said word for word, but she said that great change happens in small bits and that if we want to go out and change the world, we have to start with the small things within our reach; and it is that cumulative effect that will lead to the big changes (in the world)  that we ache to make and see. In a world where praise and validation is mostly available for the big things that make it to the reels and the headlines of people’s social media, my hope is that you will recognize that it is a collection of small things that led to those big, life changing moments. My hope is that as you get better at putting the small building blocks together to create a solid foundation for your life and your dreams, you see the ripple effect of those small disciplines in your life and the world around you and realize that there is indeed power in small.

Until next time,

Make Your Skin Great Again: The Enhancers

Hello there!  Back again (a month later 😅) for part two of my skincare regimen as promised. In the first part I shared the products that make up the foundation of my skincare routine (you can find it here). In this second and final part, I share the add-ons. So without further due, let's get into it.

1- Versed Doctor's Visit Instant Resurfacing Mask

This mask is an exfoliant containing AHA, BHA, and pineapple enzyme. I alternate between this exfoliant and the Good Molecules one. Because this exfoliant is a mask, it needs to be washed so it is not always practical- especially on the days where I do not feel like doing much. When I feel extra and I have time I like to use it. It does make my skin smooth and glowing after use. It has a jelly like texture and is cooling. Want to make it even more refreshing? put it in the fridge in this hot summer and you got a super refreshing spa moment that will tighten up your skin and leave you glowy. I use this product every other week (when not using the Good Molecule exfoliant) and I follow it with a heavy moisturizer then I apply Vaseline on top of it (aka Slugging. More to come about that soon!). One the days where I want to keep things simple, I just use Aquaphor healing ointment which moisturizes and protects the skin. 

2- Geek and Gorgeous C Glow

BABY!!! I have tried vitamin C serums before but this one swept me off my feet. I first got introduced to vitamin C when I got acquainted with the Drunk Elephant brand. I loved that serum (and so did my skin) when it first came out but eventually it started messing with my skin. I have heard speculations from other users about a change in the ingredient list that might have cause that skin reaction. I discontinued the use and didn't pay any mind to vitamin C again. However, lately I started doing my research again to find a good vitamin C to add to my routine. After doing my homework on vitamin C and the different brands, I ended up settling for Geek and Gorgeous. It is a light weight serum with 15% Vitamin C + extra antioxidants (Ferulic Acid & a smaller amount of Vitamin E). I store this the serum in the fridge as recommended on the website to extend the shelf life and use a mini bottle to decant about two weeks worth of serum. 

3- Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Face Cream (Mini, 0.5 oz)

I finally joined to gang you guys: I started using retinol. This product is a moisturizer with hyaluronic acid & retinol. I cannot really speak on reducing wrinkles as I do not have any but it does moisturize the skin. The instruction is to apply it twice daily to cleansed face and neck. However, because I am a retinol beginner, I am gradually phasing this product into my skincare routine until my skin tolerates it, working my way up to the twice daily recommendation. 


If you are deciding to incorporate those products into your skincare routine, I am adding a skincare cheat-sheet below that I myself use to incorporate products in a safe way in my own routine. More into here. 

As always, please remember to use sunscreen as these products will make your skin more sensitive to the sun. And even if you don't use them, still use sunscreen  because skin cancer ain't cute. This is it for the products that I use for my skincare routine. Let me know what products you use/like and I'll [maybe] try them. 

Until next time,

Make Your Skin Great Again: The Skincare Regimen That Transformed My Skin

Coming back here after being MIA for months is always awkward. It’s like reconnecting with the world after going off the grid for what seems like an eternity. Actually it’s is not like that: it is actually that. A little while ago the content of the blog shifted: there was more of a focus on the mental and spiritual stuff. And while I delight in those topics, I would like to bring more content about the light stuff too. While mental health and spiritual life are everyday life kind of topics, I also wanted to talk about the more practical things and get a little bit into perhaps hobbies, fashion, skincare, haircare, selfcare, etc… So to honor the broadening of my writing horizons, I am bringing to you today my skincare routine. So let's get into it, shall we?

We all know at least one person that when asked what they do for their skin to look nice, they respond: "nothing! I just drink water". Every time I hear that sentence, I roll my eyes so far that I can almost see my brain. Drinking water helps your skin look better but let's be honest: it takes more than that. Hence, this article. No gatekeeping here.

Today's skincare regimen is brought to you by my skin: she looks nice these days but she wasn't always like that. As a child (up until my late teenage years) I suffered with eczema, a condition usually associated with dry skin. And guess who has dry skin? Yup… That’s me! When I speak of dry, for me it’s more than my phone: it's my hair (a topic for another day) and my skin. It's drier than the Sahara. It's drier than a Popeyes biscuit. My skin being dry is [sadly] one of the most consistent things about me: always dry no matter the season of the year. Imagine winter ashy-ness but everyday. Not fun. While some people could skimp on the skincare, it is not a luxury that I had growing up. And it certainly is not a luxury that I have now. I had to learn early and quickly what worked for my skin. So I did and it worked (for the most part) until 2020. I was scrolling through my photo library on my phone and came across a video of me in July 2020 and let me tell you... the state of my skin in that video made wonder had me shooketh. My skin was giving stressed and raggedy. Sis was not cute at all. I remember being aware at that time that something was going on with my skin but being unable to figure out what it was. Living it was one thing but seeing my face in that video almost two years later hit different. I remember back then feeling desperate for my skin to get back to normal and looking up brands/products that I could use to create a skincare regimen because what was happening was just pure trickery and shenanigation. Something had to give.

The state of emergency my skin was in and my frantic research to find products that would nurse my skin back to health led me to Good Molecules. It was a game-changer for my skin. Some people swear by the Ordinary, well… I swear by Good Molecules (and I stand ten toes on that!). I took my time to read about the products and find something that would work for my skin type and the concerns that I had at the time. I was sold on the Hero regimen for dry skin. Since I started using this bundle in 2020, Good Molecules expanded the line by adding the Rosewater Daily Cleansing Gel and Yerba Mate Wake Up Eye Gel; but originally it had the: Niacinamide Brightening Toner, Hyaluronic Acid Serum, an Overnight Exfoliating Treatment, Caffeine Energizing Hydrogel Patches, Instant Cleaning Balm, Silicone-Free Priming Moisturizer and an Ultra-Hydrating Facial Oil. Out of the original bundle I have used everything however, my skin seems to not agree with the hyaluronic acid (I dropped it) and I don't really care for the eye patches (not really using it them either). In addition to the bundle, I separately got the discoloration correcting serum and the daily brightening serum because, in addition to having unexplained tiny bumps all over my face and a rough skin texture, I was also struggling with hyperpigmentation (I still do but not as much) and my skin looked very dull.

            

The Hero Regimen bundle (then)  vs.  The Hero Regimen Bundle (now)

             

   Discoloration Correcting Serum                      Daily Brightening Serum

Due to my skin being dry and sensitive, I can only use chemical exfoliant rather than mechanical exfoliant and the Overnight exfoliating treatment was just perfect. I started using it once a week and worked my way up until my skin could tolerate it when used three times a week. It contains AHAs and BHAs which help getting rid of dead (and resurface new skin), smoothing out rough/ bumpy skin, fading dark spots and evening skin tone. The Niacinamide in combination with the discoloration correcting serum and the daily brightening serum help improve appearance of dullness, uneven skin tone (reducing hyperpigmentation), and enlarged pores. I do not have large pores but I have noticed that when my skin acts up/gets bumpy, the niacinamide toner calms my skin down. And if I get PIH (post inflammatory hyperpigmentation) after getting a pimple, it doesn’t take as long for the hyperpigmentation to fade. I use those products twice a day, applying the toner first, followed by the serums. For the sake of time (and because it doesn’t say otherwise on the website or on the products’ boxes), I mix both serums in my hand before applying them to my face. I have to say though that you should layer them first to see how your skin reacts and if it doesn’t freak out, then move on to mixing the serums.

Consistently using those products has drastically improved my skin texture and evenness. While it is not everyone’s experience, I can genuinely say that the results from sticking with those products and being somewhat consistent in my skincare regimen is beyond satisfactory. And in case you are wondering no… this post is not sponsored by Good Molecules (but maybe they should consider it… Just a thought). This post is a presentation of what my skincare foundation is made of and it doubles as a review. I went through the entire bottle of toner, daily brightening and discoloration correcting serums and repurchased it. No need to say more: this works. Because I have dry skin, I am only discussing the Hero regimen for dry skin and sharing my experience but, Good Molecules also has a Hero regimen bundle for oily skin. So if you have oily skin maybe look into it. You might like it and it is affordable.

To moisturize my skin I use Eucerin Skin Balance night cream at night and in the morning I use EltaMD AM Therapy. I found out (while writing this article) that the EltaMD AM Therapy is a light moisturizer. While it might work well for someone with normal to oily skin and be okay during the  summer months for my dry skin, I might have to look into other options for the fall/winter.

 

The last and perhaps most important staple in my skincare is sunscreen. Doing all that work (especially when it comes to getting an even skin tone and getting rid of hyperpigmentation) is pointless if you do not wear sunscreen. It’s like throwing money out the the window. Actually it is not like throwing money out the the window,: it is throwing money out the the window. And plus, cancer is not cute. It’s ghetto. So put on your sunscreen. When it comes to sunscreen, the American Association of Dermatology recommends using an SPF of at least 30. I usually am in the 40-50 range and I go for broad spectrum as it blocks both UVA (responsible for premature skin aging) and UVB (skin burn, hyperpigmentation). Also check that it is water resistant. At the moment, I am using EltaMD UV Restore Broad-Spectrum SPF 40.

 It is a 100% mineral sunscreen designed to improve sun-damaged skin and help revitalize it. It contains Squalane which is known for restoring skin's natural moisture and suppleness. This specific SPF is formulated with Ginger Root Extract and Saccharide Isomerate in order to promote a healthy complexion by improving skin smoothness, minimizing dark spots and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It also contains antioxidants which combat skin-aging free radicals associated with ultraviolet (UV) and infrared radiation (IR) and offers high-energy visible (HEV) light protection. It doesn’t irritate my skin or burn my eyes. It doesn’t make me look greasy but it does leave a white cast. That’s the only downside. So far I have managed to make it work but in the future, I will probably explore other options from that brand that do not make me look like Casper the friendly ghost. Just like with Good molecules, EltaMD also has SPF that fits your skin type although the one that I use is fit for all skin types.

So there you have it: the fundamentals of my skin care routine. In the next article, I will share the other products that I use in addition to the ones mentioned in this article.

Until then, be well and put your sunscreen on 😊